And Me

4 Things That Drive Bloggers To The Brink Of Insanity

Do you know what really sucks? When you start a blog and things are going well so you decide to go self-hosted and then BAM: All of a sudden your blog is your own and therefore, all issues you have with your blog become your own too.

You may think that blogging is simply a matter of writing a few words down, adding a few pictures and sharing it a few times. You couldn’t be more wrong! When you go self-hosted you’re really picking up a whole host of problems and issues to deal with. You have to keep your blog up and running, you need to keep on top of updates and back things up. If your site crashes or starts to misbehave, sure, you can touch base with your host but ultimately this shiz is now yours to deal with. Much like children. You can go to the doctor when your child gets sick but at the end of the day you’re the one who will be by their side throughout the duration of the illness until they get better or you take them to the hospital when things get really bad. With a blog you can take the hospital route if you’re prepared to pay a fortune but ultimately most of us just tinker and google and ask our fellow bloggers for advice! And vent. Or rant, depending on the situation.

Here are 4 things that I know for a fact are constantly driving some bloggers to the brink of insanity!

Facebook Page Reach

Facebook reach. I can hear the collective groans a mile away!

If you’re not a blogger or a business owner with a page on Facebook then I probably sound like I’m speaking a foreign language. It’s certainly something that I’d never understood, nor cared about until I started to take blogging a little more seriously and suddenly I was noticing (and hearing about it!) freakin everywhere. And not surprising because Facebook page reach is a devil in disguise. It’s one of THE most frustrating aspects of running a Facebook page because it is so bloody unpredictable. Especially for the smaller bloggers, circa 2000 likes and under.

I’m no expert but it’s pretty obvious that it seems to have a life of its own. Some say it’s the algorithms dictating how it behaves but I say it’s like a drunken sailor giving kisses out, you never know if you’ll get a full blown smooch or a peck on the cheek!

I get that the more clicks one has the higher the reach. The more likes and comments the higher the reach. But seriously, how can one get clicks and likes when Facebook decides to give you a reach of … 3. Or 18. I mean, if all 3 people (because for non-bloggers, by a reach of 3 I literally mean that 3 people have been shown the post) liked it would that mean it gets to a reach of 6? You know you hear my rant fellow bloggers!

I love Facebook, I do. I’m a true addict dating back to 2010. It’s right up there with coffee. It has it’s annoying little quirks for sure but until I became a blogger I don’t think I ever truly understood the frustrations that accompany bloggers worldwide when Facebook just won’t show anyone your posts! Until you share some random photo of a cat and suddenly it decides to hit you with 20,000 views.

The next day you post your latest blog post that you spent hours writing and streamlining and editing before spending another hour finding the perfect pictures to go with it and you hit publish and … 132. Out of 695 (my current number of likers. Feel free to boost that!). But if you sneakily add the word ‘Facebook’ into the blurb about your link or photo then that might just increase things to 200.

This shit is hard work!

I get that there is actually a reason for how it works the way it does but when you have 10 likes and Facebook claims you have a reach of 6, then you know this shit is sometimes misbehaving itself, in which case you really have no idea where you stand unless you use Google Analytics to analyse things a little deeper.

Cos you know, you have to be the writer, the illustrator, the web designer and the marketing guru all in one! So yep, you gotta love the randomness of Facebook page reach!

When Your Website Crashes!

You’re usually in the middle of writing a new blog post (that you’re running late on because you spent two hours watching The Bachelor the night before instead of being prepared. Ahem, me? Never!) and then it idles and seems to take an age to load and then the screen of death …

This happened to me last Tuesday when I was already behind getting my post ready for a link up the next day and alas, my website dies right in the middle of editing and adding the final photos! 8.30am was closing in and I started to sweat (anyone who is part of the IBOT link up knows the race to get your post up quickly or miss a spot in the first two rows! Or is it just me?!).

The other time your site crashes will be when you have JUST linked your post onto a linky party, added the post to Facebook (ha!), when your post is doing a roaring trade on Pinterest (on a Christmas themed post that then crashes for 5 days from the 23rd of December for no fecking reason and it’s a holiday so there isn’t a thing you can do about it! True story) or it’s been shared and started gaining traction and then … it DIES.

Error: Website cannot be found.

Ffffffff….!

When You can’t upload a photo

You found the perfect photo but it won’t bloody upload! Why?! WHY?!

Or like me the other day where I literally lost the entire photo gallery on my website! THE STRESS. I stayed up until 11pm searching the WordPress FAQ archives for the answer to no avail. The next day, the same thing. No thumbnails would display but I found a way around it using HTML links pasted into the gallery instead of thumbnails.

2 days later … it came back. No rhyme nor reason. No updates were performed, no back ups recovered. I’m glad it came back but OMG, why did it stop working in the first place?! Agh!

Spam

Yep, #4 on the list of things that drive bloggers to the brink of insanity is the piles of spam that sometime infiltrate the spam blockers we have in place (of which I have multiple) and try to flatter me by raving about my fabulous website, trying to sell me a mattress (why?!), telling me how I can improve my SEO, trying to entice me to answer a question or telling me they will visit my site more often if I add a sex cam.

Very tempting, but no.

Can you relate to these? What aspects of being a blogger and running a website get your back up the most? Don’t you just hate Facebook reach?!

That Facebook reach thing is shitting me to tears. I have three business pages (children’s book series, blog and coaching business) and they all vary in number of likers but some days the Facebook reach is like 12. 12!!!!!!! It has gotten worse since I started paying to boost posts. It’s like “oh, she’ll pay so let’s screw her so she has to pay some more”. It is getting to to the point that I am feeling very defeated and wonder why I’m bothering …. Should I just give up?Leanne @ Deep Fried Fruit recently posted…Day 2336 – The Black Opal Stakes Race Day

Oh yes, all these drive me crazy too – some are out of my control so I try not to focus on it too much. And usually my website is down because of my host. It’s still frustrating though.Bec Senyard recently posted…Black Ripped Jeans for the Win – AW16 Trend

The pathetic FB reach is what gets to me the most. It can really affect your self confidence and get you down – if you let it. So much effort put in to create a community and so many posts that get seen by like um 3 people maybe! Grrr! If people comment and like then they get to see your stuff … but how can you get them to comment and like if they never see your stuff in the first place. Frustrating but it is how it is and everyone is in the same boat.Min@WriteoftheMiddle recently posted…Clear your schedule of activities that don’t serve you

I agree Facebook is totally frustrating! I’ve only received a ‘full blown smooch’ from them once, the rest of the time my posts are ignored!!! I love your drunken sailor analogy. So accurate! 🙂

I’m also currently trying to work out Pinterest and work out how they choose their featured pins! I wish for once they’d choose one that links to my blog!Ingrid @ Fabulous and Fun Life recently posted…18 Easter Inspired Makeup, Chocolate & Fruit Gifts

Oh I hear you on everything.
I use to stress about Facebook but now have resigned myself to it too hard and Facebook only encourages paid content.
As for my site crashing, that has in the past been a huge issue. The worst being last October when we were in Bali for 2 weeks and my site crashed continually I could see my stat numbers dropping. Returning home I bit the bullet and changed hosting and accepted the cost loss. Now when I see that site can’t be reached I think it is the poor quality of Australian internet service not my site as I also get the same answer with Twitter and Google – and I know they don’t crash that frequently 🙂Sally@Toddlers on Tour recently posted…How to Get Your Family Outdoors

Thankfully (or not!) it’s not my hosts fault that mine crashes, it’s just been doing it since the latest WordPress update! So annoying! Sucks when you’re away and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

I definitely agree about the Facebook reach thing. I am about ready to give up on Facebook as a way of marketing my blog altogether. I absolutely refuse to pay them any money to boost my posts.Jen V. recently posted…7 Reasons People Aren’t Entering Your Blog Giveaway

Yes to all of the above! I don’t stress about the Facebook thing, but I really don’t understand it sometimes. I’m not trying to beat the system, I just don’t get how something with 30 click-throughs and 10 likes will be shown to 100 people, but a photo with 3 likes is shown to 1,000. #teamIBOTEmily recently posted…Oh, the Blogs You’ll Blog!

Facebook confuses me no end and I must admit that I just put blog posts up there and share things and like other people’s things and muddle my way through at this stage. No science to it from my end, that’s for sure!

Website down has caused me the most pain. I had tripled my stats because of a post doing well, then my blog went down for 4 days. Well not completely down but enough that my stats went from 300 a day to 30 :/.

I’ve given up on the Facebook algorithm. I can’t even access my insights at the moment either. No idea why.Tegan recently posted…BPD and Me

I use a free wordpress site and I have been thinking about changing it but maybe I should just leave it!
As for facebook it is really annoying but I am not going to stress about it any more. Just add my posts and hopefully they will reach someone out there!

I’m really just starting out on the blogging thing more regularly that is. And I don’t understand for one second Facebook and the reach or anything! I only have 164 page likes but this week have had a reach of over 5000 because I shared a a silly picture of the Queen and Daniel Craig talking about Trump (it had a reach of over 3000)!!! And today I shared my blog post it has only reached a meagre 12!!! Go figure. Perhaps I would be better off finding stupid pictures of Trump and Grumpy cats lolCathy@lifethroughthehaze recently posted…When were you last happy?

Facebook! It kills me. I actually don’t really enjoy it even on a personal level so it’s no wonder I hate it when it comes to blogging!Claire @ Life on Wallace recently posted…“They” don’t know your child

Yep, I can relate to every single one. You sound like me with the second one. I’m always like, I’ll just watch this episode and then I’ll do the post. Next thing you know something goes pear shaped and you’re wishing you just did the blog post first. Argh!Renee Wilson recently posted…Modibodi review and giveaway

Facebook reach. Grrrrrrrr. And I get where you’re coming from about wanting to be on the first couple of rows of a link up. Try living in Perth where by the time you wake there are already 40 posts linked up (and I’m not setting my clock at 3am to get up – I draw the line there!). That’s why I look through all the posts in a link up to give us west-coasters some love 🙂Tash @ Gift Grapevine recently posted…6 toys that are all sorts of wrong

Yes, yes and yes! acebook is hard work. You put your heart and soul into something and put it out there and……nothing. Well, hardly anything. With FB I can tell within the first 5-10 minutes whether it’s going to fly or not. When it doesn’t well….might as well switch off and watch The Bachelor! 😀

Haha, you have to laugh at some of that spam! I wish I’d taken screen shots of the more entertaining/creative ones just for my own amusement. I also had no idea how much hard work Facebook was going to be. I’d have given it up by now except it’s my biggest referer (even though my posts reach approximately no-one!) I enjoyed reading this, I was venting right along with you 😉Robyn recently posted…EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

I don’t get that fb prefers you to use your personal page for all your liking and commenting etc when it’s really your fb blog page that wants to be doing that – so that people can find you and interact! Trying to generate more likes and trying to get more interaction is a constant battle – but I still loooove fb *sigh*

ARG! The Facebook thing kills me, I wish that I would have had warning before they changed the algorithm, I would have build like crazy so I would have a better hold on things. I love Facebook, I spend a lot of time there, in our group and on my page, playing a few games, I wish that it would serve me better for all the time. But alas, that ship has sailed! Bugger!

It gets to me when I try to get to my page and it just “loads” forever. I’m hoping my new web host will solve that problem, but if I am out of patience waiting for it load, I KNOW nobody else is going to wait for it.

Try going to http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/ and see how long it takes to load. It will give you an idea of why it’s taking so long. If it’s data then resizing the image fils on your homepage could increase speed 🙂

Oh boy can I relate. Recently I lost a lot of my photos to my tutorials, along with other issues that I had no ideal how to fix. I finally found someone to work on my blog fixing all the issues that my last hosting service caused. They were able to retrieve my pictures but it’s a constant worry that it will happen again.

Someone tried getting me to write a post about their bedding site for Mother’s Day the other day – I’m in NZ so it’s nowhere near Mother’s Day and they’re in London! Why would I want to do that?! And apparently my blog could go viral if I just watch a short video! Who knew?

I have at least always been self hosted – never known an easier life! 😀 But facebook reach – yes! Bloody facebook! Not just the reach in fact, everything about it! Facebook page causes me so much stress! #WAYWOW

I’m so not technical so I fear being self hosted. As blogging is just a bit of fun & a hobby for me at this stage I’m happy with that, but yes the Facebook thing drives me nuts!!Lozzie @MessyRainbows recently posted…Fan Girl Friday #11

Fair enough too Lozzie! I used a free platform for years with my first blog and then the wordpress free platform for this one for about 6 months but then I decided I wanted to design my own which is why I went self-hosted. It’s just a hobby for me too 🙂

yep! I’m totally hating facebook right now. I could post a photo that gets 20 likes but it’ll still only be seen by 100 people… I hate even more that links to my blog posts only reach like 5 people sometimes 🙁lu @ looking for mama me recently posted…The fraud of motherhood

FB is ridiculous. I did pay for some boosting and even an ad once, and I honestly didn’t see that much difference in website click throughs. Such a waste of money! I’m focusing more on Instagram and getting started on Pinterest.

I love Pinterest but mostly for my own entertainment and inspiration than for my blog, though I’ve had a little success with it. I don’t do Instagram because I don’t take enough photos on my phone! I should really look at getting into it. FB is still my #1 despite my gripes!

Haidee, in answer to your comment above, I think the ship has sailed on FB, at least for me. It seems that you need to promote posts now in order to really make something of facebook, from all that I’ve read. And I’m not sure that I’m willing to do that at this point. But I love FB and so I’m going to keep on working on it, and make it the best I can. Other platforms like Instagram and Twitter are easier to reach people, and Pinterest is so important. FB has moved down in my list of priorities, but I’m still there!Nikki Frank-Hamilton recently posted…Social Media Blast- All A Twitter

I have been considering going self hosted and now I’m starting to think maybe I’m best sticking with blogger! I have stopped using Facebook for my blog, it was taking up so much of mine time with pretty much no results. I can imagine all the spam and page crashing crashing is really frustrating xx #TheList

Ha I’m so with you on the Facebook reach – definitely like a drunken sailor! I had a post that was shown to 5 people the other day and it was a competition I really needed to promote! So random sometimes! I find SEO annoying too with Yoast – sometimes it says I haven’t used my focus key word when I clearly have. Oh if only we knew before we started on this journey (although I’m sure we would still be doing exactly the same!) #TheList

OMG so with you on the Facebook frustration. My facebook growth is depressingly low & I just can’t increase it. Sometimes I’ll have post reach 250 & a similar items only 3! It’s an absolute mystery to me. #thelist Lifeinthemumslane

I love, love, love this post. Spesh the bit about bloody Facebook. Gets right on my (lack of) tits I tell you. And when my site goes down, which seems to be a regular occurrence of late. Deffo need to do something about this. #thelist

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Sign me up for a once weekly sum up of new posts!

About my blog

I love to have a good laugh (often at my own expense!) and entertain while also delving into the more serious side of life at times too. My blog is a hodge podge of parenting these two little monkeys, humour, funny anecdotes, inspiration, coffee (you will see this as a recurring theme!) and life in general.